It’s already New Year’s Eve. what better time to share the presents I received for Christmas. Personally, I enjoy What I Got For Christmas Hauls, but I know it’s not for everyone. Christmas is relatively a small affair for my family, I only buy gifts for a few people and receive gifts from a few people. I am grateful and delighted with everything I got and feel really lucky to have enjoyed the day, with it being the first Christmas without my Mum and not spent at home. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas too.
Anyone who knows me knows I am a bath fanatic, this Lush box filled with lots of lavender scented goodies is one hundred percent a bit of me. I have already used half a bath bomb. Baths are part of my weekly routine, I have a bath at least twice a week and it is directly correlated with my mood and attitude. My last bath was excellent, I knew the moment I slid into the purple hued water that it would be perfect: the temperature, the mood, the book I chose to read, everything just hit the way it was supposed to. Baths over showers always.
This next gift is the gift that keeps giving. I got a lovely hamper with lots of cute items including a bottle of pink prosecco which is always fun. Not everyone likes Prosecco, my sister is not a fan, but fortunately I do like it and even more importantly the bottle is very pretty.
Next in the hamper were these dead sea bath salts. There are many people that advocate for the use of bath salts, I have not found them to make much or any difference. I prefer bubbles over salts any day of the week, but I am excited to use these, especially as I actually visited the Dead Sea in Jordan in 2019, and that was an unforgettable holiday. Plus anything that claims to improve my life is welcome.
No hamper is complete without a candle, much like baths, candles are a staple in my home. You can never have too many, which is fortuitous as this is not the last candle in my haul (spoiler alert!). This candle is called Amber Blush, it is in a pale pink jar and smells really soft and lovely. A great scent for the living room.
I can’t remember the last time I ate macaroons, but they make me feel very French and very fancy. I was really excited to see these sitting in the hamper. I think I might eat them while watching Emily in Paris. I heard mixed reviews and overall I decided to give it a miss, but it might be a good light-hearted viewing for me to help bring in the new year as I have some days off. I am currently watching Maid on Netflix, it is so good, I highly recommend it if you haven’t watched it. I also had some strawberry cheesecake popcorn in the hamper – which I may have already eaten – it was very sweet and strange but fun to try.
I can always count on my sister to get me a book at Christmas, and a book will always be a great thing to receive. The Secret Garden is one of my favourite childhood films, my all time favourite film is Wizard of Oz and my sister gifted me a special edition book of that last year. So I am sensing a yearly Christmas theme, the covers are so pretty and both books are great. I have read them before and they have reached classic territory for me, I am glad to own a copy of them, but also terrified of getting them dirty so both are still in their plastic outer wrapping just in case.
The other candle I received is by a brand I hadn’t heard of before L’or de Seraphine which are more luxury high end candles. I got the Varanasi Candle which has notes of sandalwood, oud, leather and florals. It is supposed to be ideal for both energising and grounding. The jar itself has the same pattern as the exterior packaging and could be repurposed as a vase or brush holder once the candle is used.
These last gifts were early Christmas presents that were both to me and from me. I got them during Black Friday while I was doing Christmas shopping for others – is it really Christmas shopping if you don’t end up buying things for yourself. I have barely worn makeup over the past two years, and find myself investing in skincare more often than not. I repurchased the Paula’s Choice Exfoliate 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant, I first tried it when it went viral on Tik Tok and really want to keep using it.
My last gift to myself was the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Serum, another Tik Tok favourite. I have wanted to try this for a while and as it was 25% off, I thought it would be rude not to. See my last post for my review on the serum thus far. Thank you so much for reading, I hope everyone had a great Christmas and wishing you all a Happy New Year! I hope 2022 is enjoyable for all. Take care.